Transportation

Wall Street Docks, New York City

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The view of the docks at the foot of Wall Street along South Street in New York City, between 1900 and 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

The same view in 2024:

Located on the East River waterfront, across South Street from the foot of Wall Street, the ferry terminal at the left provided passage from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Although the importance of East River ferries decreased once the Brooklyn Bridge and subsequent bridges were completed, ferries still play a role in New York’s transportation, as seen in the 2024 photo, where the site is still being used as a ferry terminal.  The actual boats visible in the first photo are not the ferries; they belonged to the US Army Quartermaster Corps, which no longer has a base in this area.

 

 

Union Station, Springfield, Mass

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Union Station in Springfield, Mass, around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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Prior to 1890, trains passing through Springfield on the Boston & Albany Railroad had to cross Main Street at street level; this resulted in significant traffic issues as the city grew, so in 1890 a stone arch was built over Main Street, and an elevated stone viaduct carried the railroad through downtown.  As part of this, the old Union Station was opened in 1889.  Designed by Shelby, Rutan and Coolidge in the style of Henry Hobson Richardson, the station consisted of buildings on both the north and south sides of the tracks (as seen in this photo, taken around the same time).  The 1905 photo shown above shows the south side, looking east along Lyman Street.  This station was demolished in 1925 and replaced with the present-day Union Station.  This station, located on the other side of the tracks, has been closed since 1974, but is in the process of being renovated.  In the meantime, rail travelers today use the Lyman Street entrance to access the modern Amtrak station, which is a far cry from Richardson’s original design.

SS Dorothy Bradford, Boston, Mass

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The steamer Dorothy Bradford leaving Boston, with the Custom House Tower in the background, in the late 1920s. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The scene in 2013:

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The SS Dorothy Bradford was built in 1889 for the Cape Cod Steamship Company, and brought passengers to and from Provincetown on Cape Cod.  The company shut down in 1937, and the Dorothy Bradford was sold for scrap.

The Boston Public Library estimates the date of this photo as 1930, but it had to have been earlier than that, because the steamer behind the Dorothy Bradford, the SS Mary Chilton, burned in a fire along with almost the entire rest of its company’s fleet in a fire in November 1929.

SS Nantasket and Custom House Tower, Boston

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Boston’s Custom House Tower as seen from the waterfront, with the steamer Nantasket in the foreground, probably in the late 1920s. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

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The scene in 2013:

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Boston’s skyline has changed substantially, but the Custom House Tower remains much the same as it appeared when it was completed in 1915.  It was the tallest building in Boston until the Prudential Tower was built in 1964, and to this day, remains the 17th tallest in the city.  Although no longer used as a custom house, it is now a Marriott hotel.

The Boston Public Library dates this photo to around 1934, but it had to have been earlier than that, because the Nantasket burned in a fire in November, 1929, along with almost the entire rest of the company’s fleet.

North End, Boston

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The North End of Boston from the Charlestown Navy Yard, in 1870, with the USS Kearsarge in the foreground. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

The scene in 2021:

Boston’s skyline has obviously changed significantly over the past 150 years, but at least one constant remains in both photos: Old North Church, which is barely visible behind some masts, just to the left of the Kearsarge, in the 1870 photo.  The Kearsarge was a famous ship by this point – during the Civil War, she defeated the infamous Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama.  After she was decommissioned, a US battleship was named after her; she is the only non-state to have a US Navy battleship named after her.

Manhattan Waterfront from Brooklyn Bridge

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The view of Lower Manhattan, looking south from the Brooklyn Bridge, around 1901. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The view from the Brooklyn Bridge in 2013:

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Manhattan’s waterfront is quite different today from 100 years ago. Once a major transportation hub, today the FDR Drive along the waterfront is a major transportation corridor, instead of the East River that it runs parallel to. In the foreground of the first photo are the piers for the New Haven Line, a steamship company that operated ferries between Manhattan and New Haven, with railroad connections to points north. The closest steamship is the SS Robert Peck, which was built in 1892 as the flagship of the line. In 1943, it was transferred to the Navy, and served as floating barracks for part of World War II.